A Good Teacher

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Yu had completely adapted to life in Konoha. His memories of his previous world were still clear, but they had begun to feel distant. To Yu, the world of Naruto was now the real one.

Although Yu had Slime blood, in most respects he was no different from an ordinary person. Over the past two years, he had grown taller, and his build and appearance had changed too.

At ten years old, Yu stood five feet tall. That was an average height for the Ninja Academy—not particularly impressive.

"Yu, could you explain how you interpret this example?" A short-haired little girl came over to him, clutching her book.

Yu hadn't shown any particular talent for ninjutsu or taijutsu, but he had a remarkable gift for interpreting the Will of Fire. Even his teachers couldn't match him.

Konoha had even decided to include an essay he wrote for last term's final exam, titled "A Brief Discussion of the Will of Fire," in the curriculum. For it, Yu had received a generous cash reward and a Kunai personally signed by the Third Hokage.

Sasuke was a martial arts prodigy at the school, but not the best. There were older students ahead of him, after all, and school matches couldn't be fought to the death, so Sasuke couldn't show his true strength. Yu, on the other hand, was unquestionably the top academic student at the Ninja Academy. No one could challenge that title.

The Will of Fire was easy for Yu to understand. He'd ranked first in his class in politics back in his previous life, so interpreting the Will of Fire was a piece of cake.

Lately, then, quite a few girls had been coming to Yu with questions. His Sharingan, the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai, was a little diluted, but he'd still inherited some of the clan's famously good looks. He was a handsome little boy, which only made him more popular.

Most of the time, however, Yu coldly turned them down. It wasn't that he wanted to act aloof; he simply couldn't help it!

Of course, he wasn't interested in these little girls, either. As a man with a fully developed sense of beauty, he preferred mature women like Tsunade. After all, few men could resist such a voluptuous figure.

These girls, whose hearts were only just beginning to flutter, still needed time to grow up. Yu's sense of morality made it hard for him to even consider making a move on them now.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we'll discuss the role of shuriken in actual combat..." the beautiful teacher, Hoshino Mirei, said from the front of the classroom.

During class, Hoshino Reiyuki's eyes kept drifting toward Yu. He always acted as if he wanted people to stay away, but she knew that wasn't his true nature.

She'd once run into Yu on the street and seen him flash a brilliant smile. For some reason, though, he usually wore a mask.

Hoshino Reiyuki was an ordinary ninja. Because her combat skills weren't strong enough, she'd been assigned to teach at the Ninja Academy. It had been two years since the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and many people's memories of it had begun to fade.

But Hoshino Reiyuki still remembered. Yu was one of her students, and she took her job seriously. She knew every student in her class and never gave up on any of them.

That was why Hoshino Reiyuki's class consistently ranked near the top in the Ninja Academy's assessments. Last term, she'd even been voted Best Teacher.

Still, whenever she saw Yu, she felt a pang of sadness. She wanted to help him move on from his painful memories, but she couldn't truly understand the suffering caused by such a tragedy. So she'd never dared bring it up with him, and had let him remain "invisible" in class.

But lately, Yu had started to change. Hoshino Reiyuki noticed at once, and thought this might finally be her chance.

"Ding-a-ling...!"

The bell rang. The students stood to thank their teacher, then streamed out of the classroom in groups of two or three. In any world, the end of class was the happiest time of day.

Yu closed his notebook and prepared to leave. He had plenty of work to do in the lab, and Sasuke and Naruto were scheduled to fight that afternoon. He was supposed to referee.

It was the 103rd time Sasuke and Naruto had fought in the past two years. Their record so far was ninety-nine to three in Sasuke's favor. Naruto had done well to beat Sasuke three times.

The Chakra inside Naruto was too muddled. His own Chakra, the Nine-Tails Chakra, and the sealing technique of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, all made it difficult for Naruto to use ninjutsu normally. Of course, he simply hadn't found the right techniques yet.

There was no need to explain how powerful Naruto had become after learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. And as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he also had an exceptionally strong healing ability.

If he hadn't fallen so far behind in academics, he would've shaken off the title of dead last long ago.

Naruto's growing strength put more and more pressure on Sasuke, but it also helped Sasuke improve faster. They pushed each other forward.

Of course, if they were allowed to fight without holding back, Sasuke would crush Naruto as long as Naruto didn't enter Nine-Tails mode.

I wonder how strong Sasuke and Naruto will be in five years? Once Team 7 is formed, Kakashi's going to be in for a shock! Yu started imagining the future.

He was strong enough to protect himself now, so he wasn't as afraid of the future anymore. Besides, he'd only grow stronger.

Yu gathered his things and headed out to find Sasuke and Naruto. Just then, someone called out to him.

"Is something wrong, Teacher Reiyuki?"

Yu looked at his teacher, Hoshino Reiyuki.

He didn't know much about her, even though she'd taught him for two years. He'd spent most of that time not paying attention in class.

As far as he remembered, Hoshino Reiyuki's most notable qualities were her pretty face and lovely figure. What he liked most was her neat, short blue hair.

Hoshino Reiyuki had no idea what Yu was thinking. All she could think about was helping her student.

"Yu, do you have anything on this afternoon? I'd like to take you out for a meal," Hoshino Reiyuki said, doing her best to sound warm.

"Uh! Teacher Reiyuki, you want to take me out to eat?" Yu hadn't expected her to say that.

But after considering how Hoshino Reiyuki had acted in the past, Yu quickly figured out her intentions.

What a good teacher! Yu had guessed what she wanted to do. A teacher willing to help her student escape the shadows was truly admirable. But the Uchiha Clan Massacre hadn't cast much of a shadow over him in the first place, so he couldn't accept Hoshino Reiyuki's kindness.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. I have something to do this afternoon," Yu said, keeping his face cold.

"This...!"

She'd known there was a good chance he would refuse, but Hoshino Reiyuki still wanted to try. She truly hoped Yu could move on.

But to put an end to her efforts once and for all, Yu spoke quietly to her as he left. "There's some pain you'll never understand."

Hoshino Reiyuki bit her lip at those words. They were painfully true.

Sorry, Yu could only think. He didn't want to draw attention to himself just yet.

As for the essay, he'd only written it to show Konoha where his loyalties lay, and make them think he was a good boy who loved the village.

Somehow, he'd gone too far and attracted too much attention. If he ever got the chance to do it all over again, Yu swore he'd never write that essay.